


With No Regrets

by astramaxima (shotgunsinlace)



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Slow Dancing, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:14:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23644438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shotgunsinlace/pseuds/astramaxima
Summary: Robotnik is clearly restless when he asks Agent Stone if he can dance. Unlucky for them, he can't, but hell if that's stopping either of them when the doctor offers his hand.
Relationships: Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik/Agent Stone
Comments: 20
Kudos: 130





	With No Regrets

**Author's Note:**

> Super short thing I whipped up in about two hours because I was feeling sappy and being the perfectly rational grownup that am this is how I coped. When I first watched Sonic I straight rejected any idea of Robotnik being soft with anyone ever, but that all went down the drain pretty damn quick.
> 
> Anyhoo, yes, the song is _Like I'm Gonna Lose You_ by Meghan Trainor.

_And I realized_

_No, we're not promised tomorrow_

__________

“Agent Stone?”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Can you dance?”

Stone takes a moment to think before answering, searching for any kind of context clues that may help him deduce what the doctor wants to hear. “That depends.”

“You either can or you can’t. It’s not rocket science.”

“I took a salsa class once,” he offers, racking his brain for any other moment in time that required the ability to move to any sort of rhythm. Aside from impromptu jam sessions with his now estranged sibling, usually under the influence of one too many glasses of something or another, Stone can’t call to mind any other opportunity that had him dancing. “I can maybe do the Electric Slide.”

“You must be a _real_ riot at parties.”

“May I ask why, Doctor?”

Robotnik pulls up his endless tabs’ worth of playlists, scrolling through them while his free hand thoughtfully encases his chin. His shoe taps impatiently—first toes then heel—before abruptly stopping, switching to a bouncing knee as he shifts in his swivel chair.

Stone is quick to pick up on the signs. The doctor isn’t a man to sit still for very long, always with some sort of minuscule movement going on, be it the biting of a pen or the clenching and unclenching of a fist. But this is different. The doctor is _restless_ , and Stone is intrigued by the subtle hint of what is currently going on in that genius head of his.

“Ah, here we go.” Robotnik taps the holoscreen and a song immediately starts playing, the strings of an acoustic guitar whimsically cutting through the lab’s sterile air before a woman’s voice starts to sing. “This’ll do.”

It’s different from anything Stone has ever heard come through the speakers, as familiar as he is with the doctor’s music. It isn’t the usual 70s beats, or classic rock, or the occasional techno or synthwave. The song is mainstream enough to be recognized immediately.

Robotnik stands up from his chair, back ramrod straight before spinning on a heel towards Stone, the tails of his coat flashing their red lining with the aggressive movement. His mouth is set in a severe line, eyes squinty, and Stone is bewildered, but he’s not stupid enough to ask. Instead, he rolls with it, looking at the doctor expectantly when he crosses the small distance between them to stand toe to toe with the agent.

Robotnik holds out a hand, wordlessly, and stares at Stone with an intensity that would make a lesser man wither. Stone almost backs up from the shock but is able to hold his ground, stealing a quick glance at the doctor’s face to make sure he’s not misreading the situation. Hesitantly, dreading a reprimand, Stone places his hand in the doctor’s waiting gloved ones.

It happens quickly, their joined hands extending and the doctor’s arm wrapping itself a little above Stone’s waist, pulling him closer while still keeping a respectable distance between them. Robotnik guides them into a simple sway to the beat, feet barely moving as a man joins in to sing with the woman.

Stone feels his baseline smile falter and he tries his darndest to school his face into something that isn’t perplexity, but fails spectacularly, his eyebrows pinched in confusion along with another feeling he quietly wishes would go away. Unfortunately, an entire swarm of butterflies break loose in his stomach and his fingers twitch when he finally brings his free hand to rest on Robotnik’s shoulder.

Robotnik doesn’t look to be faring much better. He looks vaguely befuddled, but his expressions change by the second: confidence, annoyance, smugness, surprise, and acceptance. That last one takes a while to emerge, and with it comes the further closing of what little distance is left between them.

“Agent Stone.”

“Doctor.”

Robotnik steps away and maneuvers Stone into a spin, bringing him back with a mischievous smile. Stone laughs as the towering steel wall that so imposingly stands between them is disintegrated by a cheesy pop song. He’s spun again, this time as Robotnik moves across the floor with a flourish before bringing them chest to chest, hands to hands, apart, and then back together.

Stone is genuinely _charmed_ , their shared consternation banished in favor of enjoying this quiet moment. The doctor looks at ease, his features soft enough to be devastatingly handsome as he pulls away from Stone and into his own spin, a hand on his chest as he briefly dances with himself. Not knowing how to move without guidance, Stone keeps the same sway he had going on, bopping his head.

It’s impressive, how despite the over the top movements and garish gestures, Robotnik does it all to the beat. Stone watches him with a grin, enjoying every second of the unabashed display of freedom and pure enjoyment the doctor is granting him a look into. It makes him so much more human in Stone’s eyes, so much more _real_.

Robotnik takes his hand again, yanking him towards the center of the lab, this time spinning them both in a tight circle before dipping Stone with a ‘grawr’ that rips yet another unbidden laugh out of the agent.

“Alright,” Stone says as he’s brought back up and pressed flush against the doctor. “Consider me seduced.”

Robotnik cocks an eyebrow, one that says _nailed it_ , before chuckling. “My manly charms are a force to be reckoned with, Agent Stone. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you never stood a chance.”

“All you had to do was ask.”

“No fun in that.” Robotnik drapes both his arms on Stone’s hips, easing into slowly rocking them to the music. “Lights,” he commands, and the fluorescent bulbs dim, shifting to holographic waves of blue and red that seem to dance along with them, creating a cozy ambiance. “I devised a plan that would embed the suggestion of you staying in my service indefinitely. _Foolproof_ , might I add! After dozens of simulations formulated from scrounged up data, I concluded that dance is often a desirable trait and a reliable method of acquiring a partner in the Earth’s animal kingdom.”

Stone hums in agreement, resting his arms around the doctor’s neck in return. “Like salmon swimming upstream.”

“They do that for different reasons.”

Stone rubs a thumb along the closely shorn hair at the back of the doctor’s head. “Will you be doing the swimming, or should I do the honors, sir?” 

Robotnik’s mustache twitches as he turns his head away in a surprising display of bashfulness that has Stone smiling softly at him.

“One step at a time, Stone,” the doctor says, holding him a little closer as they continue their idle swaying from side to side.

“Of course, Doctor.” Stone rests his head on Robotnik’s shoulder as their arms readjust for an easier hold. He shuts his eyes and lets himself be blindly guided, for once. No room for demands or expectations. No hesitation. No bigger picture. Just Robotnik, holding him with a gentleness Stone hadn’t been aware he was capable of. “Did this turn out how you expected?”

“To a tee.”

“Impressive,” Stone says, slightly pulling away to reach up on his toes and press a kiss to the seam where an impeccably groomed mustache meets the doctor’s upper lip.

Robotnik’s eyes widen comically, the gobsmacked expression settling warmly in Stone’s chest.

“I wasn’t expecting _that_ ,” the doctor says, licking his lips, “but—”

“But you were expecting not to expect something, so it doesn’t count,” Stone finishes for him.

“Stone?” With a huff, Robotnik assertively rests his chin atop the agent’s head. “I don’t regret the day you were assigned to me.”

Agent Stone smiles, resting his head back down against his shoulder and holding the doctor tighter. He will take that as the veiled confession that it is. “I don’t regret it either, Doctor.”

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi on twitter @ **[astramaxima](https://twitter.com/astramaxima)!**


End file.
